The presence of Korean culture in Latin America, driven by the Korean wave or hallyu, is evident, with studies exploring its implications (Gendler, 2018; Cheong, 2022; Wang, 2022). In Chile, there's a growing interest among youth in Korean pop culture, particularly in music, series, and food. This impact is institutionalized, notably in Santiago's Patronato neighborhood, where a street was renamed "Seoul." One aspect yet to be studied is the role of Korean gastronomy in bridging the culture of origin, reception, and the emerging culture in this territory. Guiding this research is the question: How is Korean gastronomic aesthetics configured in Santiago's Patronato neighborhood?

For this research, 18 semi-structured interviews (Tonon, 2009) were conducted with restaurant owners, food influencers, and Korean diners, selected through convenience sampling. Additionally, a sensory ethnography (Pink, 2009) was undertaken, paying attention to all senses affected by the preparations: sight, smell, taste, touch. This was followed by an aesthetic analysis based on Perullo (2011) and Volli (2022). Perullo (2011) presents the concept of gastronomic aesthetics as the possibility of the emergence of a model that refers to the object and the food experience, which is emotional and intellectual at the same time. Volli (2022) returns to classical rhetoric and its five steps to analyse food as a discourse, which seeks to achieve certain meanings.

This study not only contributes to the understanding of Korean gastronomy in a specific territory, but also provides a conceptual framework for future research on the cultural intersection of migration, gastronomy and territoriality.

Authors:
Martina Cayul Ibarra, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Chile

About the Presenter(s)
Chilean sociologist, aesthetics graduate, master (c) in Latin American Art, Culture and Thought at the University of Santiago de Chile

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